Postby cassie » Tue Nov 15, 2011 2:24 pm
Thank you AnaLy and mummy_dani for being more level-headed than me. I started out by simply pointing suzy to a site which offers up very clear and concise information on what homeopathy actually is and was irked when HappyHomeopath linked to some irresponsible nonsense.
Maybe HappyHomeopath hasn't *treated* anyone for an ongoing problem or illness and has only worked with people to PREVENT illness, if so, great. Unfortunately, many/most homeopaths don't seem to be so moral.
HappyHomeopath do you tell your customers they should get their children immunised or that they should, instead, use homeopathy? Would you recommend your customer go to their GP to get proper malaria medication when travelling to a malaria hotspot or would you give them a "preventative" treatment of your own? Do you turn away patients with Asthma, Allergies, Eczema or do you take their money?
For anyone who might still be under the impression that homeopathy is the same as Wibble treatments (for which there is, at the very least, some evidence that some Wibble treatments actually work), this is what homeopathy is from 10:23
What is Homeopathy?
Contrary to popular belief, 'homeopathy' is not the same as Wibble wobble.
Homeopathy is based on three central tenets, unchanged since their invention by Samuel Hahnemann in 1796.
The Law of Similars
The law of similars states that whatever would cause your symptoms, will also cure those same symptoms. Thus, if you find yourself unable to sleep, taking caffeine will help; streaming eyes due to hayfever can be treated with onions, and so on. This so-called law was based upon nothing other than Hahnemann's own imagination.
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The Law of Infinitesimals
Following on from his 'law of similars', Hahnemann proposed he could improve the effect of his 'like-cures-like treatments' by repeatedly diluting them in water. The more dilute the remedy, Hahnemann decided, the stronger it will become. Thus was born his 'Law of Infinitesimals'.
Taking a single drop of caffeine and diluting in ninety-nine drops of water creates what is known to homeopaths as one 'centesimal'. One drop of this centesimal added to another ninety-nine drops of water produces a two-centesimal, written as 2C. This 2C caffeine potion is 99.99% water and just 0.01% caffeine. At 3C the dilution is 0.0001% caffeine, at 4C it's 0.000001% caffeine, and so on. Homeopathic remedies are commonly sold at 6C (0.000 000 000 1%) and even 30C (0.000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 1%) dilutions, which homeopaths will often drip onto little balls of sugar to sell.
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The Law of Succussion
While transporting his remedies on a horse-drawn carriage, Hahnemann made another 'breakthrough'. He decided that the vigorous shaking of a homeopathic remedy would further increase its potency. This shaking process was named 'succussion'. When ritually preparing a homeopathic remedy, the homeopath will shake or tap the preparation at each stage of dilution, in order to 'potentize' it.
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Water does NOT have memory. If it did, why doesn't it "remember" all the poo that's been in it?